0102 Carrier
by Steven Dalton
Summary: A young veterinarian is convinced she isn't sick, prompting House to go beyond the limit to prove otherwise in order to save her life. Episode two of season zero, r/r! please!
1. prologue

**House, M.D.**

**Season Zero**

0.02.

"Carrier"

Humming to herself peacefully as she stepped out of the car, Sarah Albright looked thru her hefty purse for the keys to the office, taking out her headphones and placing her sunglasses away. Pausing at the front entrance, she held the bag under her right arm muttering, "Where is it?" Finally, after tossing aside an empty bottle of an energy drink, she jingled them free and unlocked the door. Instantly she was greeted by the soft yelp of a dog inside the veterinary clinic and she turned about, looking over the small grate that had been designed to keep the animals from roaming about and declared to the yellow lab as he jumped up, "Hey Maxie! What're you doing out?" The dog leapt again, whining and howling and then barking turning it's head toward the direction of the eastern corridor and Sarah muttered, "Okay, hold on." Sliding past the grate, she quickly punched in and then said, "Let me guess, you're hungry!" Max yelped again, rushing down the corridor and she raised her eyebrow in surprise following him into the operation room. When she got there, the technician gasped in surprise, seeing the form of her supervisor lying on the cold tile floor and dropping her purse. Turning the older woman over, Sarah began to perform CPR, and then checked her pulse before rummaging thru her purse again this time in search of her cell phone. Without hesitation, she dialed 911 and declared, "Emergency? This is East Hubert Veterinary Clinic."


	2. part 1

part 1

Dropping files into the clinic's inbox, Doctor Lisa Cuddy told the nurse, "See to it those are on Doctor Jennings desk by 9 am, all right?" As the elderly nurse affirmed that would be the case, she continued on her path to her office; and then paused midstep to see one of the members of the board waiting for her.

Adjusting her blouse and saying a silent prayer, and went in declaring, "Mister Cunningham, I didn't realize we had a meeting this morning." "Sorry to make you rearrange your calendar Doctor Cuddy, I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by and get the initial report on Doctor House's department," Bruce answered as he stood up, placed his hands in his pockets and she commented, "I'm sure he's probably already filled out the proper paperwork for his first case, I can send it over to you if you'd like."

"I'd rather that you handle that, Doctor Cuddy. My sources tell me that Doctor House may tend to leave out certain vital pieces of the information, in order to save face with the board," Cunningham answered.

"I don't understand, you're the one that hired him; shouldn't you be a bit more lenient of him?" Cuddy asked.

"The board is still unconvinced that this hospital even requires a diagnostic department. House has been on the job for two weeks, and he's only had one case. Where I come from we call that lazy," Cunningham remarked.

"I'll send the message along," she said with a nod as she sat down. "I'd appreciate that," Bruce said and then added, "I'll be in touch." As he turned to leave, he spotted House walking into the clinic, choosing a patient at random and then pointing to an examination room. Glancing back at her, Bruce walked thru the glass doors and commented, "Doctor House."

He paused as the patient went into the room and then muttered, "Go in and count to a hundred, if I'm not there play a game of hide and seek with yourself."

Turning to the board member, House declared, "Bruce, good to see you again. Have you lost weight?" "Why are you here at the clinic when you should be reviewing more critical cases?" he asked. Defensively House shrugged, gesturing toward Cuddy and remarking, "She can be quite overbearing."

"It's mandatory that all doctors here at PPTH participate in clinical duty," she replied, to which House stated, "See what I mean, she's a slave driver!"

"There should be several cases on your desk waiting for you, handle that and handle it fast. I want to present the board with something worthwhile tomorrow," Bruce declared, and then walked off without another word.

"Guy needs to drink more coffee," House declared as he turned toward Cuddy and then stated, "I like him." "Wipe that smile off your face, this is only temporary; once you've proven how invaluable you are you'll be back swabbing decks with the rest of the slaves," she countered.

"I can hardly wait," he answered sarcastically and then prepared to leave, and spotted his patient leaving the examination room and commenting, "I just needed this prescription refilled." "Sorry, you violated the rules of the game, try again next time," House declared, leaving the clinic and Cuddy turned to one of the nurses on duty and muttered, "Escort this woman to the pharmacy please."

Sliding the pile of patient files across the table in a carefree manner, House announced, "Pick your poison." Gabe glanced at all of the files and remarked, "A simple good morning would've sufficed."

"My, my; someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Did you suddenly realize you're not a horrible clone of Wilson?" House countered to which Jason said, "I told you already, I wasn't hired by Doctor Wilson. I don't even know who that is."

"Ever have a grandma?" House asked, to which his fellow looked at him befuddled and remarked, "Umm, yeah."

"Same persona, only with more teeth," their boss quipped as he spotted the latecomer, Doctor North entering the department.

"Did the ER run out of room?" he asked, glancing at all of the patient documents. "Board of directors has decided they want me to pin the tail on some lucky donkey, even better we get to pick the donkey," House declared.

"Patient presented with sarcoidosis," North began, to which his boss remarked, "Boring, next."

"You know actually North wasn't wrong about the staff in the ER running out of room. I heard Doctor Cuddy saying just this morning she needs more doctors to work clinic duty," Vale said as she glanced at the files and added, "None of these are going to whet your appetite, House. So if you'll excuse me, I think my skills are better suited elsewhere." She stood to leave, but House merely shook his head and remarked, "You'll never carry the torch with that kind of attitude."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Natasha asked.

"It's no secret you think you're the smartest person in the room," North commented dryly, to which House stated, "Running off to be Cuddy's gofer won't earn you any brownie points. On the other hand, find a case for me and help solve it; and there might be a few words of praise in my report to the board."

"Which is when?" Natasha asked. "Tomorrow morning, bright and early," House declared, to which she sighed and said, "Fine I can wait that long." "Knew there was squeamish coward underneath that stalwart façade," her boss said with a smirk as Gabe opened another file and asked, "How about this? A veterinarian was admitted into the ER by her assistant technician just an hour ago, apparently her boss had gone into shock."

"She's still in the ER?" North wondered in surprise. "They haven't gotten to revive her yet," Gabe said as he read the file.

"Good choice," House said taking the file from him and adding, "By the way, sucking up to me also doesn't earn you brownie points." As he left the office, Natasha placed her hands in her pockets and Scott asked, "Out of curiosity, what does earn brownie points?" "I don't think we want to know," Vale retorted.


	3. part 2

part 2

As it turned out, Doctor Madeline Honors had already been moved to the ICU by the time House had arrived to take the case, so when Matthews; the neurologist currently on duty spotted him he sighed and said, "I know what you're thinking House, but don't bother. She's already begun to recover."

"Even better, I prefer talking to patients when they're not in comas, although admittedly some in comas are interesting too," he answered and added, "Did you figure out what caused her stroke?"

"It wasn't a stroke, it was a reaction triggered most likely by an allergy, nothing more nothing less. She wants to go home," Matthews answered.

"And then back to work right? Where there's a chance that something could happen again and this time super dog won't be there to dial 911?" House countered.

"How do you know so much about this case? It was called in only two hours ago," the neurologist exclaimed.

"Magical elves told me," House said blandly as he walked into the ICU, but Matthews stepped in his way and remarked, "As far as I'm concerned you don't have a reason to be here House." "Why don't you let her decide for herself?" he countered, to which he sighed and said, "Fine, Doctor Honors, this is Doctor House."

"Doctor House, it's been a while," Madeline admitted and then Matthews asked in surprise, "You know each other?"

"Wilson's old dog, Dustin was a regular at her clinic. I made the occasional check up myself," House explained and then added, "Although magical elves does sound more mysterious."

"Doctor House is one of my care providers, but I don't see much reason for you to be here Greg; I'm being released in less than half an hour," Madeline explained. "You know chances are you could have another reaction," he countered, to which she said, "It comes with the territory, believe me. I've been bitten, scratched, cut myself you name it. Sometimes I think being in a psych ward would've been safer."

"At least let my team check out the clinic, make sure that there isn't anything there which could cause something like this to happen again," House insisted. "Why if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were actually concerned about me," Honors commented dryly.

"Looks like your reputation proceeds you, House," Matthews stated dryly and then turned to him and declared, "Now if that will be all, I have a patient to discharge." "Yeah, sure," House said with a nod and then turned about to leave, deftly ducking the file he'd managed to snatch out of the doctor's lab coat into his underarm.

Whenever their boss returned to the office, he looked even more sour then before; if that was even possible. North stood out of the way as he walked in and passed him a file commenting, "Everything you need to know should be in there."

Scott opened it and paused, noting what was on the first page and declaring, "Like for example there's the fact she's being discharged?"

"If you'll notice, I circled that one, just in case you couldn't find it," House countered, to which Gabe asked, "I'm not sure I understand why we would be handling a case when we don't have a patient."

"People have a tendency to respond greatly to good news, no matter who the idiot is that gave it to them. It's our human instinct to accept the good and push aside the bad. In this case, Matthews told her she was fine and she accepted it. List of symptoms prove otherwise," House said.

Passing the file to Natasha, North said, "It could be a stroke. Underlying blood clot or nerve damage caused by some injury she received at work." "According to the ER admittance, she was unconscious when she got here; but not seizing. Can we rule out toxin or bacterium? Maybe some airborne virus that caused a blockage in the lungs," Gabe said as he looked over the file, to which Vale said, "The bigger issue has yet to be resolved. Cuddy told you to find a case that the board would be interested in. I don't think this fits the bill."

"What I find interesting is what matters," House countered and then added, "Besides, she's an old friend."

"Now that comes as a shock," Gabe said dryly to which North commented, "Could be lupus."

"Once again a moot point, because last time I checked; our patient isn't here. We're just bouncing theories off the wall, no way to prove any of them," Vale said.

"And here I thought you would be the forerunner in the butt kissing race," House quipped as he took the file and stated, "Blood samples were probably taken when she was admitted into the ER. We can use those to check for any kind of poison or abnormal entity."

"Matthews is going to notice this file is missing eventually," North noted. "He'll be too busy being full of himself," their boss said dismissively as he propped his feet up and began chewing some bubblegum.

"And what about environmental? For all we know it was caused by something one of the animals she treated at her clinic carried in," Vale countered. Blowing a bubble and then popping it House assured her, "Don't worry, already got that plan covered."

"Mister Morrison, I have good news about your scan," Wilson began, half expecting House to burst into the room at any moment. It was almost lunch and he hadn't seen his friend all day, which probably meant that he would be here soon touting some problem that was supposedly of life and death importance but only to him.

Surprisingly however, as his patient finished listening to his news about the tumor in his liver shrinking and then thanking him profusely, House didn't show up. As he stepped out into the hallway, he spotted him sitting there waiting and remarked, "Have I slipped into some alternate universe and I'm just not aware of it?"

"Julie likes dogs, doesn't she?" House countered as he stood up and followed Wilson into his office, as James shut the door he remarked, "We've talked about it… she wants a beagle. I think a schnauzer would be better."

"So why haven't you signed the adoption papers yet?" House inquired, to which Wilson responded, "We live in a two bed house right now. Not exactly pet friendly." "With that kind of attitude you'll never be a good father either," House commented as he sat down and remarked, "I seem to recall that last year on your anniversary you got into a big fight over a dog."

"That was about Bonnie's dog. Julie thought it was stupid that I wanted to take care of him while she was away," Wilson paused and then added, "I couldn't very well let him starve."

"It's possible she might've had puppy envy. Probably about time you thought about getting her a four legged friend," House decided.

"Why do you suddenly care?" his friend wondered in surprise. "No reason, except for the fact that I'm pretty sure it could serve as an excuse for you not to have to go the ballet next week," House replied, to which Wilson asked in surprise, "Wait, she talked to you about that? I thought she'd forgotten."

"I think she's already bought the tickets," House said with a nod and then added, "Getting a new furry addition to your dysfunctional family could get you off the hook."

"There's no way Julie would fall for that. She's been trying to get me to go to a ballet for months, despite my frequent and obvious lack of interest," Wilson remarked. "Then just tell her you can't go," House paused and then smirked and said, "That's right I forgot, you let everyone treat you like a doormat."

"She's my wife, she deserves a little happiness every now and then," he argued, to which his friend remarked, "Yes but if you don't want to go hunting for the fourth Mrs. Wilson, I think a dog is the least you can do."

"And you're saying this why? Out of the goodness of your heart?" Wilson countered.

"I seem to recall that when Sam wrote the divorce papers out you had a bit of a problem with alcohol for about a year or so," House said, then looked at him and remarked, "I don't want to have to be a caretaker for you again, Wilson." James looked down at his papers and then nodded silently and remarked, "I suppose just going to look wouldn't hurt." House nodded and then said, "I think I know just the place."


	4. part 3

part 3

Stopping into the lab, House glanced at his fellows as they were busy running a culture and asked, "Any problems down at ER?"

"We will have once Cuddy realizes what we're doing," Vale stated. "Don't worry, hopefully by that time we'll have a patient back in here," House stated, to which Gabe said, "What makes you think that she'll come back?"

"I don't," House said as he looked thru the drawers as if searching for something and then adding, "But I'm pretty sure she'll be reconsidering her previous conclusions in by tomorrow afternoon."

For a moment the three fellows looked at each other and then North stood in front of him and said, "If you're planning on causing a reaction, you know we can't just stand idly by while you do that."

"I liked you better when you treated me like a saint," House remarked, preparing to leave; but then Gabe and Vale stood in his way and she said, "These two may not have the courage to go to Cuddy, but I do."

"Thought you decided to stop being her muse?" House asked.

"Doesn't mean I'm going to let you endanger a patient's life," Vale stated. "I'm not endangering anything, I'm saving her life. It's obvious the reaction she had is being caused by some sort of condition that could easily give her another stroke at any time. So by me making sure she gets treated, and ultimately saving her life; you're saying I'm breaking some ethical code? Yeah, sure sounds like you've got your priorities straight," House stated to which Jason said, "Or it could be absolutely nothing. We don't have the authority to just give her some kind of drug that could easily kill her!"

"I never said I was going to give her an injection," House said, opening his hand and showing them that all he had actually gotten was a pair of tweezers.

"What?" Vale asked, glancing at the object at surprise.

"I wanted to see if you three would band together and become the Mousekeeters. Looks like I was right," House said, as they slowly dispersed and let him thru before he added, "It's too bad, really thought we had a bond going here."

"So if you're not going to inject her, what are you going to do?" North asked. "Uh uh, no more hints. I'm sure by the time I walk out of here all three of you will be running off to tell the grand pumba," House countered.

"No," Vale said defiantly even as House began to walk off and she forced him to stop once more declaring, "We're not to going to rat you out."

"We're not?" Gabe asked. "I'm pretty sure that's what he is counting on us doing, which probably means he'll figure out an alibi for how he couldn't possibly have been there whenever whatever he's got planned actually happens," Vale decided and then added, "You're right. I'm not Cuddy's chimp, so I don't need to be running to her to tell on you. I'm pretty sure you can mess things up either way."

"Glad to know we're on the same page," House sarcastically replied and then turned to the other two and asked, "What about you? Not man enough to stop me?"

"She's right, this is your show; not ours. I can't risk you tarnishing my record," North concluded and Gabe just shook his head and walked away. "Looks like I was wrong about you three," House said as he began to walk off and then added sourly, "You're just cowards."

East Hubert Veterinary Clinic wasn't exactly what you would call a five star facility. As they parked, Wilson couldn't help but to feel that the place was understaffed, in need of a paint job and probably a new sidewalk.

"Are you sure we haven't been here before?" he asked as he shut off his car and stepped out onto a drifting pinecone. There were plenty of trees surrounding the area, not the sort that gave proper cloud cover though, he thought as he glanced back at his car and hoped it wouldn't be too hot when they got back. "I'm forty to sixty percent sure," House answered as he slung the backpack onto his shoulder and James stated, "You never did explain why you brought that along. It's not like we're going camping."

"Always good to be prepared," he countered as they entered the main lobby and a Yorkshire terrier immediately began yapping at them. House turned and glared at the dog before remarking, "If you get one of those I'll never come over again."

"Is that incentive?" Wilson said with a smirk as he went to sign in and then told the receptionist the reason they were there. House seemed to be looking around for something in particular and Wilson asked, "Not considering one for yourself are you?"

"Does it look like I would enjoy giving one of these mongrels a bath? What am I Doctor Dolittle?" he countered, to which Wilson was about to make some remark, when he spotted a familiar face and called out, "Madeline? Is that you?"

The young doctor smiled broadly at seeing his old friend, and she returned the greeting until she saw House and remarked, "Greg is this your idea of a house call?" "I make sure to keep the meter running," he quipped.

Wilson gazed at the two of them and then asked, "Is there something going on that I should know about?"

"I was at PPTH yesterday James, I'm surprised he didn't tell you," Madeline explained to which he asked, "Was there some case you were consulting on?"

"I was in the ER. I had a minor stroke, that's all," she answered. "A stroke? Are you okay?" he asked.

"She's obviously in top condition, especially since she ran out of the hospital and straight back to work," House commented.

"Unlike some people I do have bills to pay," Honors countered and then crossed her arms and asked, "So what're you doing here if not to check up on me?" "I thought we were coming to look at your adoption roster, I should've known he would have an ulterior motive," James commented, to which his friend stated, "Am I really that predictable? She's been discharged, there's nothing I can do anymore."

"Then why come to my clinic?" Honors asked.

"Since our visit yesterday was so short lived, I figured we could go somewhere and have a bite to eat," Greg said with a shrug.

"Now I'm positive that I've slipped into some alternate universe," Wilson said crossing his arms. Defensively House said, "I'm being serious. Wasn't there a coffee house just around the block? It's almost eleven, go on break and have lunch with us. My treat."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were replaced by a pod person," Madeline quipped but then sighed and nodded and said, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to catch up with you two. I'll be clocking out in a few minutes."

She walked back to the clinic and as she did, Wilson muttered, "This was never about me and Julie was it?" House looked at him in shock and then muttered, "It's not my fault you don't like ballet."


	5. part 4

part 4

Schaub's Coffee Café wasn't exactly busy when they got there, which was no doubt a good thing since Madeline had explained she only had an hour before she had to get back.

As they found a table, House placed his backpack onto the floor and commented, "Must be stressful having to work so much."

"I seem to recall you promised me a lunch between friends, not a diagnostic differential," Honors said as she took out her purse and got some prescription stress meds out and then added, "And if you must know, yes it is. Ever since Ron and I divorced, it's been hard to make ends meet."

"I'm sorry," Wilson instinctively said to which House said, "Careful, you might get him to give you a hug."

Madeline looked at the two of them and then smiled softly as she said, "It's fine really. I'm still trying to even deal with the reality of it all. Guess my mom was right and I should've dated you." House looked down at his coffee and then remarked, "Wouldn't have worked. I'm a bit committed to my job myself. Ron wasn't an ideal match, but you had a few good years with him."

"So how long have you worked at East Hubert?" Wilson asked as she placed the medicine on the table and she sighed, thinking and remarking, "I'd say about two to three months. I'm not chief resident or anything, but I think in a year or so with my skills I'll prove myself."

"Not if you're dead before that," House commented.

"Look," Madeline said angrily as she glared at him and placed her hands on the table before stating, "What happened yesterday was clearly me working too much. I told Sarah I'm cutting down to five days a week instead of six, does that make you any happier?"

"No, but then again nothing does," House quipped, to which Wilson remarked, "Maybe he's right, maybe the ER did miss something."

"Oh not you too," she said rolling her eyes. "If there weren't any tests run, it could happen again," Wilson explained to which she remarked, "I told you I'm fine."

"You're also stubbornly clinging to the idea that you're fine when you know that you aren't," House paused and then added, "And that scares you. Yet instead of looking that fear right in the face, you choose to hide from it. Not realizing all the while that like a predator, it will strike again." For a moment it looked at though she was going to cry and then she nodded and said, "You may be right House. But I've got a child now."

They both looked at each other and then back at her and she nodded and said, "Ron and I divorced because I wanted to adopt, and he didn't. Christie is almost one now. And that sick…" she paused, wiping tears from her eyes and then standing and stating, "I'm not going to let him take her from me like he did everything else."

As she walked off to the bathroom, Wilson said softly, "Wow." "That's one way of putting it," House said as he reached into his backpack and took out a small bag that appeared to be filled with white sugar.

"House, what're you doing?" James asked in surprise, to which he explained, "You heard her, she won't go back to the hospital herself."

"Are you… is that, lisinopril?" Wilson asked in surprise.

"Or it could be splenda," he said as he reached for her coffee and James growled, "You could give her a heart attack!"

"Think she'll come back to the ER then?" House countered and then glared at his friend and stated, "I'm not stupid. This is just enough to give her low blood pressure. Dizziness, and maybe fainting, that's it."

"You could get fired," Wilson argued, but then spotted Madeline returning even as House doused the coffee and the remnants of the ACE inhibitor disappeared entirely. "I'm sorry I blew up on you like that," she admitted.

"Madeline," Wilson began as she reached for her coffee and she paused and asked, "Yeah?" House gazed at him for a long moment and he shook his head softly and sighed saying, "Promise me that if you do have another reaction, you'll let us check you over, for real this time."

She sipped the coffee slowly and then nodded before answering, "Hopefully that won't happen anytime soon, but yeah; I don't see why not. Maybe Greg can put that brain of his to good use." "Always good to feel needed," he said with a nod as he drank his own beverage and she sat back down.

The following day as he stepped into the clinic, Doctor Gabe anticipated the inevitable.

He wasn't sure why he had agreed to side with Natasha yesterday, especially since he knew the results could cost them all of their jobs. Yet Vale had somehow convinced him that staying out of House's way was the only solution to moving forward. Even so, Gabe was positive that their boss had probably done something unethical by now.

The question was, how seriously would it affect his career? Before he'd come to Princeton Plainsburo, he'd been specializing in the field of oncology under Yasmin Dukar from Old Creek Medical Plaza, which was farther to the south shores of Jersey.

He'd met Doctor Wilson at a convention there, and if he wasn't mistaken a much younger House. But the good doctor had been too busy flirting with some chick by the salad bar to be concerned with him.

And Wilson and he struck up a friendship. Had I known it would involve being his lackey, I wouldn't have signed on for this position, he thought as he glanced at the chart and prepared to speak to the patient. As he about to do so, Doctor Cuddy knocked on the door softly and remarked, "Excuse me, can I have a moment?"

Pausing and politely excusing himself, Jason followed her outside where she asked blandly, "What are you doing here?" "Doctor Vale said that the clinic-" "Doctor Vale is not your boss, House is your boss and I'm House's boss. You're supposed to be working on a case," Cuddy said cutting him off and remarking, "Despite the fact that this clinic is short staffed right now, our board members seem to think that House is a ticking time bomb."

He looked at her inquisitively to which she replied, "I can tell in the few weeks you've worked here that you might consider that opinion as well. Yes, he is reckless and ultimately selfish; but he does good. He saves lives. Believe me, once this whole issue concerning his medical license is resolved there will be plenty of time to come down here."

"What I think the board of directors is failing to realize is they are giving him way too much credit," Gabe remarked.

"Maybe so," Cuddy conceded, and was about to say something else when a woman approached her and explained, "Lisa… is Greg in today?" "Madeline, I thought we released you yesterday," Cuddy said in surprise to which the young veterinarian replied, "I think… there's something wrong with me."

Her eyes were droopy, possibly due to the stroke or whatever House had done and Jason narrowed his gaze, thoughtfully considering what sort of reaction House was trying to set off. "Nurse, get this woman to a room right away," he told one of the staff and then added, "And once she's set up on some stimulant I'll need a stool sample."

The nurse brought Madeline a wheelchair, which she gratefully excepted and Cuddy asked, "How do you know what to look for?" "I don't," Jason lied as he shrugged and watched her go before adding, "But it's like you said, I have to stop wasting my time here."


	6. part 5

part 5

Hours later, when the results came back, Jason, Natasha and Scott entered House's office carrying the stool sample and their boss looked up from his computer and remarked, "Sorry, all out of free samples."

"You could've caused a heart attack," Gabe told him evenly.

"Blame your surrogate father, he didn't stop me," House said turning to them and adding, "Or rather maybe the blame should fall on you three, considering the fact that we already had this discussion yesterday."

"You had no way of knowing for sure if this would have an adverse reaction. What you did was reckless and-" Vale began but he stood up and remarked coldly, "Madeline has been taking increased amounts of stress medication for the past several months since her husband left her as a single parent. Her heart rate was already thru the roof. What I just did probably saved her life, even if it did cause her to get all woozy."

Scott crossed his arms and said, "What makes you think we won't go to Cuddy?"

"Well let's see, does this day also end in y? It's like your gallant leader declared, you all know I'll do what I want anyway. The point is she's here now, so it's time to treat her for what's really going on," House countered.

"If she had taken the stress medication before you gave her this it could've caused her irreversible liver damage or worse," North stated and added, "You claimed you had a level head yesterday. Now I can see that you don't know what's right and what's wrong anymore." "If you go to Cuddy now, you won't have any proof," House pointed out and then pointed toward Gabe and stated, "He already had his chance to lie and he didn't, so did Mother Teresa over here. Wilson kept quiet because he knew one of his close friends was being stupid. She's sick, possibly dying. It doesn't matter what I did because obviously it didn't kill her, so let's figure out what is. Or would you rather cause both her death, your career to implode and this hospital to be held liable because that's the only other alternative here."

For a moment, none of them spoke; each daring to defy him in some new way until finally Gabe admitted, "He's right. She was stubborn when she was here at first because she didn't want to lose her daughter. So the only good we can do now, is to see to it that doesn't happen."

"What about you?" North asked, turning to Vale. Sighing she remarked, "It's got to be environmental. We should go to the clinic, check the medical records of every animal within the last week or so."

"Do an LP to make sure it's not a clot in her spine or anywhere else in her nervous system, and I'll talk to Cuddy about getting the files from doggy day care," House said with a nod. Vale and Jason walked out, leading North alone to confront him and he sighed and asked, "What was I supposed to do? Because if you have another suggestion I'm all ears."

"I was wrong about you. I thought you put patient care above all else, I knew that meant breaking the rules sometimes; but I didn't realize you would use even a close friend to be a test subject just so you could solve a stupid puzzle," North remarked.

"The greater puzzle here is why you haven't decided to rat me out," House said, his eyes narrowing as he took a step toward him and then adding, "The answer is simple, you know by doing so that you'll just wind up destroying yourself. So you have no choice but to lie. You'll hate yourself for awhile, and in the meantime I'll save a life. In the end it all evens out doesn't it?"

Scott stood there for another moment, and then sighed in defeat walking out of the office. As he watched him go, House couldn't help but to wonder what sort of trouble might happen because of his actions.

A few hours later, after performing the LP and before she clocked out for the evening Doctor Vale entered Honors' room and said softly, "I'm sorry, didn't mean to wake you."

"No, that's all right. I wasn't really sleeping. After you get your spinal fluid taken out it's kind of hard to rest," Madeline said with a soft chuckle. "The test results will probably be back in the morning," Vale said as she sat down beside her and Honors remarked, "I take it then you didn't come here to give me any good news."

"I couldn't help but to figure out the connection between you and my boss," Natasha admitted and then asked softly, "How long have you known him?" "Long enough sweetheart," Madeline said with a smile and then added, "I trust him."

"I suppose my tone of voice has given away that I don't. This is only the second case I've been on with him, and needless to say I'm not impressed," Vale admitted. "Did his first patient die?" Honors asked.

"No, but that's not the point," she began but Madeline commented softly, "Then what is it that doesn't impress you? He's not putting on a show with anyone. He's to the point, even brutal sometimes; but he's… he's always right. I can tell from the look in your eyes that you realize that too."

"What if he manipulated you? Forced you to make a choice you didn't want to make?" Vale countered to which she shrugged and answered, "I'm sure he's probably done that already."

"You don't care?" Natasha asked. "I think that falls under the category of patient doctor confidentiality," Madeline said with a smirk and then coughed slightly and remarked, "I don't suppose you could reach into my purse and get me my inhaler?" "Sure," she answered and then paused and remarked, "You have asthma?"

"Yeah, why?" she wondered. "Does House know that?" Vale asked.

"Like I said that's-" "Does he know," she said coldly cutting her off to which Honors replied seriously, "No. In my new house there's a bit of asbestos. Nothing serious but it's hurting my breathing. I had a checkup about two to three months ago, right after I moved in. The inhaler is just a precaution."

Passing it her, Vale watched as she breathed into it and then remarked, "I don't suppose I could take this to the lab?" "Have a hunch huh?" Madeline said with a smirk and then nodded and said, "Yeah, I should be okay."

"Thanks," Vale said scooping up the inhaler and preparing to leave. As she did so, Honors remarked, "Hey." Turning about she looked at the veterinarian and Madeline remarked, "If you're busy rationalizing something that he's making you do, then trust me; you already know he's right."

"Mesothelioma," Vale announced as she slapped the document down onto his desk. Removing his glasses, House glanced at the file and commented, "I can big words too, for example downsizing is another word for fired."

"We caught it early, she has asbestos in her house. We might be able to get her into surgery. But the problem, the real problem here is that you might've damaged her liver with your little stunt," Vale remarked and added, "Which means we have to do a biopsy and if there is liver damage, then she won't get surgery and probably won't get a transplant."

"Lung cancer wouldn't have caused the initial reaction at the clinic," North commented.

"Doesn't really matter what she had," Vale pointed out. "She's perfectly healthy besides having a little liver trouble, right?" Gabe asked from the doorway.

"As far as we know," Natasha said in exasperation.

"Pump her full of steroids, run a biopsy to show to the committee and prove that she's ok to have a portion of her lung removed. Once the steroids wear off we can claim the liver failure was a complication of the cancer. She'll have one problem eliminated and we can put her on the transplant list, this time for a liver," Gabe said.

"That's a very risky gamble, the steroids might not even eliminate the fact that House screwed up," North growled.

"I didn't screw up," House replied defensively as he stood up and remarked, "Get a CT of her lungs, run the steroids and get her into the OR by this afternoon." "Where are you going?" Vale asked in surprise. "To find some asbestos, obviously," he answered quickly as he left them behind.


	7. part 6

part 6

As the curtains opened to let in the midday sun, Madeline shielded her eyes and asked North what was going on.

As he began to explain the situation concerning her lungs, concerning the mistake she had made; her world was blocked out for a moment. It didn't matter what he said as he hung the IV nor did it matter about the surgery she would soon have.

The words from Doctor Vale rang in her head surrounding House and in that moment, she knew her friend would learn the truth. I should've known, she thought as she went under the scalpel.

In a clinic across town, House asked a young lobby clerk to let him see the back of the vet. Something about the possibility that one of their dogs might be a carrier for a tick or a bacterium.

He flashed his badge as though he was a cop and then she showed him in. Peering at each cage, trying to determine who was the guilty culprit, he found nothing out of the ordinary.

No unusual bites, or fur falling off.

No obvious signs of any asbestos at all.

Madeline had been wrong.

He realized this all too late as he turned about and saw the gold lab staring at him wagging his tail and House remarked sourly, "Don't try and play innocent." A few moments later, a call came thru to the OR. House was asking them to stall the surgery. But it was too late, they'd already induced Madeline and were making an incision to reach her right lung. As he hung up the phone, House reached for one of the stronger narcotics and then whistled softly.

The dog leaped forward, panting softly and sitting attentively as he injected it with the medicine. Tossing the syringe aside he glanced up and called out for someone to bring him a carrier.

It didn't matter that he sped, nor that he called once more trying to get in touch with Matthews. Maybe the neurologist would listen, but he doubted it. Walking into the hospital, he spotted North approaching him and asked, yet already knowing the answer, "What happened?"

"Her right lung collapsed, what we saw on the MRI was a shadow, hiding a larger cancer. Matthews called it at 5:54," North answered and then glanced down at the dog and asked, "What's this?"

"Exhibit A," House growled angrily as he walked toward the elevator with the carrier in his right hand.

Later that night, down in the morgue as he performed an autopsy on Max, the golden lab Cuddy entered and remarked, "Is there a new policy concerning animal care that I'm unaware of?"

"The dog was wearing perfume," House declared as he took off his glasses and stared at her.

"I'm sorry?" she asked in surprise to which he explained, "This was her dog. The perfume was hers. She sealed her own fate when she used it, even though she realized it."

For a moment, she wasn't sure what he meant.

"The ingredients set off a reaction, leading to her having a stroke; which ultimately led to her death. She worked herself to death, all because of a stupid dog," House said miserably.

"There's no way you could've stopped it. She's probably been using that perfume for months, it's what caused the lung cancer," Cuddy said, placing a hand on his shoulder and he nodded dumbly before answering, "I know."

Nodding, she turned to leave, not saying another word as he stared at the form of the dead animal and then slid the gurney away. A few moments later, the sound of other footsteps approaching.

This time belonging to Wilson.

"I got in touch with Ron. He's going to come and pick up Christie tomorrow," he said with a sigh.

House nodded again, glancing at the dog and then commenting softly, "I killed her Wilson."

"Why? Because of the lisinoprel? That didn't cause this," James said softly.

"The signs were all there and I ignored it. I ignored it simply to solve a puzzle," House said coldly and added, "She was depressed."

"What do you mean?" he asked. Opening his hand, he showed him the stress medication, the kind Madeline had been taking and added, "She's known she's had lung cancer for awhile now. Probably since the divorce. Too much of a coward to take her own life. She left it in my hands." "I… I don't believe this," Wilson remarked, his mouth going dry.

"All I did was give it a push. The liver failure did the trick, the steroids probably caused the lung to collapse, and then…" House paused and then pushed the cart over, toppling it with a loud crash as he stood up and said softly, "She manipulated me from the start."

"Even if what you're saying is true…" Wilson paused and then said softly, "It may be she knew you were the only way to end the pain. She trusted you to push her. Even if it was just to die without suffering."

"Great, so now everything in the world will turn into rainbows," House growled sourly and then added, "Well guess what, her plan worked; she died. Happy and dead! I feel so much better."

"She fooled us both, but maybe it's better than the alternative," Wilson said to which he answered coldly, "Yeah, seems this whole place is infected with cowards, isn't it?" Without another word, he walked out of the morgue and switched off the lights, leaving Wilson in the dark in so many different ways.

**END**


End file.
